Situation
The client, a leading provider of medical instrumentation, had recently entered a growing segment of the diagnostics market via a strategic acquisition. Shortly thereafter, several competitors also announced similar investments in this market via partnerships and acquisitions. To compete effectively, our client needed to understand the current capabilities and detailed sales and product development strategies for each of these players. To inform its geographic rollout strategy, our client also wanted to understand competitors’ challenges and lessons learned in navigating regulatory processes and driving adoption by healthcare providers across several key countries in Europe and North America.
Methodology
Maia researched each competitors’ R&D, Product Management, Sales, Marketing, and Strategy Functions to gather a nuanced and detailed view of the companies’ strategic plans, current capabilities, and development efforts. Maia also completed in-depth interviews with regulators and early customers of the competitors’ platforms in high-priority countries to further validate the companies’ regulatory approval strategies, sales approach, and value proposition, as well as identify any customer challenges, critical feedback, and unmet needs.
Analysis
By leveraging the intelligence collected through primary research, Maia created detailed profiles of each competitor that included: current product portfolio, capabilities, and pricing, R&D pipeline and product development strategy for new instrumentation and consumables, geographic roll-out strategy, country-specific regulatory approval and reimbursement strategies, sales force structure, and value propositions and competitive positioning. Maia also identified major “lessons learned” for each competitor and highlighted sales challenges encountered in top priority countries.
Impact
The client immediately used the insights provided by Maia to inform its strategic planning, including prioritizing investments in R&D and sales resources within key regions. This enabled the client to beat its competitors to market with new assays targeting high growth areas in the most lucrative markets, while avoiding wasting time and resources attempting to enter challenging markets with a low likelihood of success due to unfavorable payer reimbursement policies and limited customer adoption. As a result, the client has successfully transitioned from a new entrant to a recognized leader in this space.